NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony broke his silence on a controversial booking caught on surveillance video, which showed three Broward Detention deputies beating a subject back in 2022.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Tony did not mince words about the incident that led the deputies in question to face second-degree felony charges and be placed on administrative leave.
“You don’t get a free pass to strike, injure, hurt or harm any of my goddamn deputies in this agency,” he said.
The security footage showcases the moment BSO Deputies Denia Walker and Cleopatra Johnnie, as well as Sgt. Zakiyyah Polk, began to punch and kick 38-year-old Samantha Caputo, who was brought to the county jail on a charge of driving under the influence in October 2022.
“We cannot allow a Pandora’s box of law enforcement officials in this county being arrested and prosecuted when there is no probable cause, but only indicators, that there is a potential that this is being done for somebody else as a favor,” said Tony.
The scuffle ensued when deputies ordered Caputo to remove her clothes and change into a jail uniform, which is standard during the booking process.
However, things would take a turn when Caputo pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it, underhand, to the deputies, which Caputo’s lawyer, Philip Johnston, said was “taken as a sign of disrespect.”
“The suspect decided to be a smarty pants and throws the bra, and tries to hit the deputy in her face,” said Tony. “The deputy captures it, pushes her back to disengage, and then you have this suspect, decided that she’s going to launch forward to try to assault this deputy.”
Deputies responded by pushing Caputo against a wall. The push made her fall behind a yellow line, which is a blind spot for the cameras, because it’s the inmates’ changing area.
“Did our deputies strike her? You better believe they did,” said Tony.
Due to the constant movements and the restricted camera angle, the women often went in and out of view throughout the duration of the video, though at one point, a white foam-like substance was presumably sprayed and fell onto the deputies’ shirts. The video doesn’t clearly show who sprayed the substance.
In an interview with 7News last week, Johnston said one of the deputies attacked Caputo with pepper spray while another shocked her with a Taser.
“She tried to get back to her feet, the guard caught her throat with an open hand and took her down to the ground. Another guard pepper-sprayed her within seconds. This is all taking place within seconds,” said Johnston. “The guard hit her with knee strikes, punched her, stomped on her. The main officer takes out a Taser and tases her once, tases her a second time.”
After the altercation, deputies are seen attending to Caputo.
“Where is your aggravated battery? Where’s your rogue, unprofessional deputies?” said Tony.
Tony said behind that yellow line is where Caputo bit, scratched and even fractured the bone of a deputy’s thumb. He said Caputo was on drugs and the deputies acted in their right.
“No, she was not under the influence of alcohol from what we’ve been able to identify, but the toxicology report came back and showed she was amped up on amphetamine,” said Tony.
At the end of it, Caputo was treated for a black eye, a swollen face and a skin infection at the site where she was shocked with a Taser.
“Everyone in this organization will be held accountable, and everyone in this community will be held to the same standard,” said Tony. “The video is crystal clear, that they had demonstrated only the level of force necessary to get this individual back in compliance. Our standard is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to the threat of which we face.”
Caputo’s DUI charge was later dropped. Her attorneys argue that the deputies did use excessive force.
Johnston told 7News that his client went flying from the first shove, and there was no possible harm from Caputo, who weighs about 110 pounds.
Tony said that he will defend the three deputies until the end.
“If I have to go back to law school and defend these women myself, I will do it,” he said.
Friday afternoon, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor released a statement that reads in part:
“Attempts to verbally bully my office or sway public opinion prior to trial will not deter us from seeking justice and striving to do the right thing. My prosecutors and I will continue to try all criminal cases in the courtroom, based on facts and evidence – not in the media.”
All three deputies now officially have their jobs back, but Tony said prosecutors having charged them with a crime was an injustice.
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